Good deal?

Hi chaps, I'm looking at potentially getting a DRZ400SM as a commuter and then getting some spare wheels for occasional off-roading. Now this isn't an immediate thing but I've been thinking about it for a few months and figured if I found the right bike at the right price I could just get it now. Basically, I'm looking to move to London in the next 6 months and would rather use that up there than my current ER6F (which will be kept away from London!)

I've found a 2008 SM in blue (I would prefer black) with 1,900 miles on it. It seems absolutely brand new and still has warranty left on it. The price is £2,850 with some room to haggle. Does this sound like a good deal? Bearing in mind I'm certainly in no hurry - I probably don't need it for another 6 months or so...

Is this a good enough deal to snap up now?

i would say 2850 was slightly on the high side but then i havent looked at the sm prices lately, i bought a 53 S with 9k on the clock for 2400 from a dealer (18mnths ago) which in retrospect was too much but it was immaculate and from the biketrader and ebay prices of the time about right, a mate bought a 55 plate S about 6months ago for 1900 with about 2k on the clock lots of offroad extras but cosmettically untidy. if it was me and i wanted black i would wait cos i know down the line i would still be wishing i had the one i wanted, then again you know when a bike has your name on it and at that point nothing seems to stop you going for it

br

It seems the SM prices are quite a lot higher than the S or the E (mainly because they only started making them a few years ago). I didn't end up checking out the blue one in the end but I did go and see a black on in a garage. It was almost identical to the blue one in age and mileage but was black and the price was £3495! The rear tyres looked absolutely ruined too, which in 1,900 miles makes me think it had been absolutely spanked.

Thanks for the advice. I've decided to just hold off for a while and like you said, you know when a bike has your name on it!

If you don't need to buy for 6 months then hold off and buy a bargain during the winter period. Wait until some poor bugger has had a tough Christmas and needs to pay for it buy selling their bike or the dealer is desparate to shift stock. Harsh I know but thats my best advice.

Also:

You can do a search on eBay & select 'show nearest first'
Then save that search & ebay will send you emails whenever new ads are listed.
I did that for a few weeks & looked at 2 bikes before settling on one came up within walking distance from my house.
There's the added security of the previous owner knowing you're only a short ride away should anything 'all of a sudden' go wrong once you've picked it up.

Remember - you can always walk away but you may find that bike you're looking for. Worked for me.

Btw, I bought a 2002 400E with a few bits on & recent service receipts for £1600.

Rough price guide here... http://www.parkers.co.uk/motorbikes/used-prices/#

Cheers Doctor! I saved the searches when I was looking for my ER6. I checked the Parker guide the other day and it seemed a fair price but not spectacular.

I'm just going to wait. If I got one now I would certainly use it but I have the time and patience to wait for the perfect deal.

It's a shame I'm dead set on an SM (on the basis it'll see more road than off-road, especially at first) because all the good deals seem to be on the S or E!

Cheers guys!